Shunde cuisine is not an offshoot of Cantonese cuisine, it is a genre on its own IMHO. In this private dining restaurant in Shanghai, Shunde cuisine is kept to its highest standards.

There is an old Chinese saying that goes, “吃在广州，厨出凤城”, which loosely translate to “The gourmets are from Guangzhou, the chefs are from Shunde”. Shunde 顺德, which was known as Phoenix City 凤城, is best known for producing some of the best Cantonese chefs out there.

In Shunde cuisine, nothing is more important than freshness and an umami taste – summed up in one Chinese word, xian 鮮. Cantonese cuisine is heavily influenced by the chefs from Shunde.

猪皮冻 Pork Skin Terrine

Very nicely executed terrine, each piece is surrounded with jellied braising liquid that had all those pork flavours. If not for being a Shunde restaurant, I would have thought it came from Teochew.

维C蔬果汇 Fruit and Vegetable Salad

This Western-style salad uses sliced fruits (mango and dragonfruits) and butterhead lettuce with a sweet, tangy dressing made from sesame, mustard and emulsified olive oil. And finally a sprinkling of shaved Parmigiano Reggiano.

顺席鱼生 Shunxi Yusheng

In recorded history, the Yusheng (Chinese-style ceviche) has been eaten since the Tang Dynasty; river fish was deboned and sliced to thin slivers which was then mixed with a variety of ingredients. The Four Heavenly King in Singapore took this recipe and made it to the Prosperity Yusheng 發財魚生 that is commonly eaten during the Chinese New Year.

The soul of this ceviche is the cold-pressed peanut oil, shredded lemon leaf, shredded ginger, sesame seeds, pickled garlic, pickled jalapeño, among other ingredients – all thirteen of them – mixed together with the carp sashimi. The fish is fresh and sweet, and every bite is a pure natural enjoyment.

海蜇柚子皮 Jellyfish with Pomelo Skin

In Shunde, pomelo skin is not discarded; instead, they are processed using a very tedious method and given a second life as a delicacy. It was paired with jellyfish, another uncommon ingredient that is almost tasteless but with crunchy texture. The fragrance of the pomelo with the crunchiness of the jellyfish, flavoured with sesame, soy sauce and host of aromatics. This was a delicious appetiser.

羊肚菌辽参鹧鸪炖汤 Double Boiled Soup of Morel Mushroom, Sea Cumber and Partridge

Cantonese are famous for their double boiled soup, and Shunde is one step ahead with its really clear consommé like soup with very fresh ingredients. The partridge is an excellent fowl for soup, and this sweet of the bird came through in the soup. The sea cucumber was out of its depth when compared to flavourful morels and partridge.

雪菜春竹笋 Pickled Vegetables Spring Bamboo Shoots

This is the season for bamboo shoots and they are the most crunchy and moist during this initial rainy season. Freshly harvest bamboo shoots sautéed with pickled vegetables and you get a savoury and fresh tasting dish.

生嗜雪花牛肉粒 Sautéed A5 Wagyu Beef Cubes

The marbling of this Wagyu beef was excellent, even though it was not Japanese Wagyu as Japanese produce are all banned in China. There’s a nice smoky taste of cognac as the chef used it to flambé the peppery beef. Delicious.

脆皮乳鸽 Roast Pigeon

The pigeon was braised and the deep fried even though it was described as roast pigeon. The meat was really juicy and the pigeon skin was crispy.

自制乡味黑豆腐 Homemade Black Tofu

I thought it was stinky tofu, but it is not. Just a special homemade tofu using black beans instead of soy bean. Quite delicious and unique.

顺德小炒皇 Stir-Fry Shunde Style

小炒皇 Xiaochaowang is something that every family in Shunda would prepare and the ingredients vary from home to home. But in most restaurants it would include garlic chives, bean sprouts, squid, shrimps and other easily cooked ingredients. A quick stir-fry in a cast iron wok for that wokhei will yield a very delicious dish.

清炒时蔬 Sautéed Vegetable

A quick stir-fry seasonal vegetable, this being early spring, pea shoots were in season. Nothing beats eating fresh and seasonal.

臻味春卷 Deep Fried Savoury Spring Roll

The last time we ate here, the spring roll skin was too thick and the filling was quite spare. This time, it was so much better, and you can taste the jicama, carrots and bamboo shoots in the savoury fillings.

凤城姜撞奶 Shunde Ginger Juice Buffalo Milk Custard

The milk used was buffalo milk, just like in Shunde. The high fat content of the milk made it the perfect diary to “knock” with ginger juice. The alkaline in the ginger will coagulate the milk, causing it to cuddle and form custard like pudding. The result was a really smooth and silky milk custard. This is the perfect sweet ending to a wonderful meal.

Afterthoughts

There are basically no shortcomings in these dishes; the ingredients are exquisite, the technique polished, the finished dishes were delicious. The service was attentive and yet not intrusive. My business associates and I were able to talk confidentially while enjoying a wonderful dinner.

Highly recommended. If you want anything more authentic, you will need to go Shunde.

Shunxi Private Dining 顺席•太史府私宴
上海市徐汇区肇嘉浜路500号，好望角酒店22楼
Tel : +86 (021) 6882 8886

Visited Mar 2024